The Hillbilly Tour made a stop at our museum this morning.  The tour consisted of numerous Model T Ford vehicles along with their owners.  We were honored to have them visit us.

We have done a few recent blogs which have highlighted automobiles.  One of them told the story of one of the first garages in East Perry County……Altenburg Needs a Mechanic.  Another one told the story of an early car salesman in Cincinnati who had some roots in this area…….Mr. Mueller, the Salesman.

After meeting several of the Model T owners, an idea I have had about car lovers has been reinforced.  Lovers of old automobiles, car salesmen, and auto mechanics have something in common.  They all have the “gift of gab”.  They love to talk about cars.  Actually, they love to talk  about whatever topic that comes up.

One old personal story of mine comes to mind.  When I was a boy, and we visited relatives in Altenburg, my dad would often want to stop at the Altenburg Garage to gas up our car before heading back to St. Louis.  Whenever he said he was going to do this, my mom would object, saying that we should stop at some other gas station down the road.  The reason:  She knew that my dad didn’t just want to stop for gas.  He wanted to talk to his old buddy, Bob Fiehler.  And believe me, Bob Fiehler loved to talk.  So our trip would often be delayed by that stop for gas.  Since I didn’t want to leave Altenburg to go back to the big city, I didn’t mind, but my mom sure did.  I will add that Bob Fiehler passed that gift of gab on to his son, Gerard.  Enough said.

I, for one, enjoy being around people who have the gift of gab.  I wonder what that says about me.